Matthew 6:14, 15


For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins ~ Matthew 6:14, 15

Someone recently said to me, “It’s not easy for any of us to forgive.” We certainly here have the mandate to forgive, for if we don’t, God will not forgive us! It is very clear! We have to forgive our brother or sister in the Lord, or we will deal with the consequences of being shut out of heaven. So, if we have been hurt, and I am sure we have all been, how do we forgive?  Why should we let that person “off the hook” so to speak! So, let’s look first at what forgiveness is. In the wronged person, it is the deliberate, conscious decision to release…hmmm, I think I want to stop there. To release, to let go, to open the hand and drop, or open the heart and feel different! Is that then the stem of unforgiveness, that we hang on, hold tight, grasp with strength? But what is it we won’t release, what emotion? Well, let’s continue. Forgiveness: to consciously, deliberately release feelings of resentment, or vengeance toward a person or group who has harmed you, regardless of whether they actually deserve your forgiveness. Ahhh, there it is. Our feelings tell us that we must hang on. Our feelings say I will never let you get away with that again! You, as my offender will know this from now on! And then, we have just imprisoned ourselves. You see, the person who has offended you may not even recognize that you are dealing with these issues, and they carry on in life. But you are frozen; frozen in anger, in resentment, in wanting to get back and get even. You as the unforgiver, are attacking your own emotional, physical, and mental health. Forgiveness is liberating and helps one regain self-control. You want to leave all that “ugly” stuff out of your life and heart. This is why God commands us to forgive, this is why we cannot enter heaven, because we are full of what God is not. God is love, God forgave us so much more than what we will have to forgive another for, Jesus died on the cross in order to bring forgiveness to us! Forgiveness means you have made peace with the pain. You may not want that person in your life, but you are at peace in your heart. Forgiveness is also the highest, most beautiful form of love there is. Our blessed and beautiful example is Jesus Christ. So, let go, be healed, move on and find the peace of Christ in your heart today. Amen.

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